Nissan’s New Concept X-Trail Crossover Is Designed For Dogs

Hitting the road with kids is challenging enough. Throw a canine into the backseat and you can bet there’ll be chaos. Not to mention a giant mess of mud, slobber, and crackers. Of course your kids will blame it on the dog. And your dog? They’ll blame it on a squirrel (typical). That is, unless you roll out in this new X-Trail Crossover from Nissan that’s tailored exclusively to canines.

The vehicle itself is the same 7-seat, 4WD family-friendly crossover Nissan already sells — it’s called the Rogue here. Nothing new to note. What they’ve done, however, is turned the cargo area into a plush, padded, and leather-lined paradise for your pooch. It’s loaded with all the luxury amenities dogs demand these days in their owner’s SUVs. Seriously, though, some of this stuff is pretty damn awesome if you’re a dog owner.

The cargo hold is covered in an easy-to-wipe-down leather, so cleaning all that mud and slobber is a snap. Actually, there shouldn’t even be that much dirt, since the car comes with a 360-degree dog shower (and a fur dryer!) stored conveniently in a drawer below their bed. Yes, there’s a bed. And yes, you can give your dog a bath before they hop in it. Except they actually don’t have to hop at all, either into the bed or the car. The ride features a retractable, slide-away ramp that pulls out and stretches all the way to the ground, so your dog can prance all the way up the jetway.

Once aboard, it’s pretty much what you’d expect doggy First Class to look like on Emirates. There’s a clip-in harness for safety, a personal air vent, a no-spill water bowl, and a ‘smart’ treat machine that dispenses when Spuds steps on the button. Not to mention a 10-inch LCD camera/screen so they can watch Turner & Hooch once you reach your cruising altitude. Kidding, it’s actually a 2-way ‘dog cam’ with audio so you can talk to your pet and/or make your kids insanely jealous. By the way, it’s okay at this point to shake your head in disbelief and ask what the world is coming to.

Except you should know, it’s all still a concept. (Sorry, dog lovers.) And it’s anybody’s guess whether Nissan will actually bring it to life, or even bring it to the US. And until they do, unfortunately, you’re stuck having to decide who’s more believable when it comes to that mess it the back seat: the kids or the dog?(For More Information/Daydreaming)